he aroma of freshly brewed coffee is not only intoxicating but also stimulates your senses right away. It is just the punch that helps us kickstart the day. Did you ever wonder what makes coffee so irresistible? It’s the “Caffeine” in coffee beans that makes us feel invigorated and fresh.

So, “What is this Caffeine everyone keeps talking about” and “How does Caffeine help in HIIT(High-Intensity Interval Training) workouts?” Caffeine is a plant-based stimulant that helps you stay alert and prevents tiredness. It is a naturally occurring substance in some 60 plant species, of which the coffee beans are very well known. Some of the other sources of Caffeine are cocoa beans, kola nuts, and tea leaves. Due to the stimulative quality of Caffeine, it has piqued the interest of the scientist community, who have conducted several studies to identify if this stimulative quality can be beneficial for sportsmen, who have a very active lifestyle. Well, the results are positive - Caffeine is definitely beneficial for helping combat sportsmen and any high intensive workouts.

Unlike any other food that we eat/drink, Caffeine does not take a long time to be absorbed by the body. Caffeine is absorbed in the bloodstream soon after consumption and reaches the brain quickly. The effects of Caffeine can be seen as early as 10 minutes after intake, but the peak of its work can be seen after about 45 minutes.

Now that you know how Caffeine works, let’s see the various areas it works because Caffeine does not just act on one particular area of your body. It is multi-functional.

• Nervous system - Caffeine activates the areas of the brain to help improve focus and energy and also reduce tiredness which is seen in HIIT workouts. This helps in better performance and increased endurance.

• Hormones - Our body is able to pump up adrenaline that helps us increase our performance and Caffeine is seen to activate them, thus increasing the body’s ability to work during HIIT workouts.

• Burns fat - Caffeine increases our body’s ability to burn fat during a HIIT workout, by stimulating the nervous system to send direct signals to the fat cells, telling them to break down fat.

• Body temperature - Caffeine is known to increase body temperature, something which is required for the body to burn more calories.

• Endorphins - Endorphins are known to increase a feeling of wellness that is increased with the intake of Caffeine.

Multiple trials and researches have been conducted to fully understand Caffeine, its functions, and its effects on people during intensive workouts. The results have been positive and as such, you can find that Caffeine has become one of the most sought after dietary supplements available in the market. Most of the trials/research conducted surround men and the kind of activities that they do. With women also entering the bandwagon, scientists have started to take a keen interest in their performance and find out which supplement can help them well. A study on women’s performance in athletes or workouts with Caffeine intake can be seen only from around 2005.

A few trials were conducted on women athletes to understand the impact of Caffeine supplements in their performance. It can be noted that results indicate a moderate dose of Caffeine may be effective for increasing performance in both trained and moderately active females. However, not all facets of the workouts have been included in their research, but yes, scientists are slowly picking up their pace.

All said and done, one must take note that Caffeine stays in our system for about 4-6 hours after intake and is best had during the day time, as it may lead to sleeplessness if take in the evening. 

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327474

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6548757/